Cetra The forgotten race
by Isilwen of Lorien
Summary: a AU about Aeris, and what it is like for her to have psychic powers. Starts of a bit cruel, but don't worry. Everything becomes a lot better for her in the end.


Note: This story is written for my boyfriend, who I love greatly. Everyone  
should read and review this story as it's written for the best person on  
this planet, and everyone should worship him. Actually no, because he's  
mine and I don't want to share him, so tough. But feel free to read and  
review anyway.  
  
And in this story Aeris is 15. So don't start e-mailing me saying "Aeris  
isn't 16" because I know she isn't, but she IS in this story.  
  
Aeris Gainsborough was sleeping in her bed. On a chair laid the clothes she  
had picked out to wear when she woke up, her schoolbooks were lying on her  
desk, homework completed, the night before. It was a typical room, for a  
teenage girl. Though a lot neater than most, as Aeris took pride in keeping  
her things neat.  
  
She was having a dream about getting a pet chocobo, and travelling out of  
Midgar, where she lived, when she was woken up by her alarm clock. She  
rolled over and tried to get back to sleep, but the alarm clock continued  
ringing. Giving up, she sat up, yawned and turned it off. Getting out of  
bed, knowing that if she didn't she's just fall asleep again, she made her  
way to the bathroom..  
  
An hour later, Aeris was finally ready for school. Picking up her books and  
putting them in her bag, she walked downstairs.  
"Bye Mum" she called, walking out of towards the front door.  
"What about breakfast" called her mum, "you can't leave without eating  
anything!"  
No time!" called Aeris walking out of the house.  
Her mother sighed, Aeris did this every morning, she didn't know why she  
bothered trying., to get Aeris to eat anything, she never did.  
"it's like she spend as long as possible getting ready on purpose" she said  
to herself. Little did she know, that this was exactly what Aeris did. In  
fact sometimes she just sat in her bedroom, doing nothing, instead of  
eating breakfast. She was just never hungry in the morning.  
  
Aeris walked towards the bus stop, it wasn't far. About 10 minutes. While  
she walked she thought about her dream. 'I wish I could really leave  
Midgar' she though, looking at the city around her. 'I will one day, I have  
to, I can't spend my life in this dumb'  
And it was a dump, houses falling apart, graffiti everywhere, no flowers or  
plants, pollution had killed them off years ago. And the constant sound of  
trains going past. You got used to that eventually though, and it no longer  
bothered the residents, who were too poor to do anything about it anyway.  
Midgar didn't seem to bother most of it's residents, most of which had  
lived here all there lives. But it bothered Aeris. She felt like she  
belonged somewhere else, somewhere far away. Where there was no poverty,  
and people didn't fight. But she didn't know where this place was. And even  
if she did, she wouldn't be able to get there.  
Aeris was busy dreaming about how much better her life would be if she  
could just leave Midgar, when she realised that she arrived at the bus  
stop. Checking her watch, to make sure she hadn't missed it, and glad to  
see it wasn't due for another five minutes she sat down at the seat. Just  
like every other day. She watched as a guy from her class walked over and  
sat at the other end of the bench. She smiled at him, but he just acted  
like she wasn't even there. Aeris was used to this sort of behaviour,  
everyone though she was weird at school, and tried to avoid her. Aeris  
didn't mind. She knew she was different. It wasn't about looks or  
intelligence. It wasn't her hobbies, or personality. It wasn't something  
worse than that, that set her apart from any other person. It was the fact  
she could talk to ghosts. Well, more the fact they talked to her. She  
hadn't told anyone this, but it was almost worse because of it. As people  
though she kept talking to herself. Aeris wished that she could just be  
normal. Sure it sounded cool being able to talk to the dead. But it wasn't.  
People acted as if you were insane. It wasn't that bad, Aeris was used to  
it. But sometimes she just wished she had a friend, someone who understood.  
Just as Aeris was thinking these things the bus arrived. Getting on and  
sitting alone, Aeris looked out of the window, and watched the people the  
bus passed.  
  
Things got worse for Aeris when she arrived at school. She walked down the  
corridor into her first lesson, maths, and sat at her desk, expecting to be  
ignored as usual, unfortunately she wasn't.  
"Let me copy your homework." Said a guy with blond hair in spikes, the  
schools bully. His name was Cloud. Aeris just looked confused.  
"But it's just 10 simple problems, I'm sure you can manage to do them  
yourself in the ten minutes it takes the teacher to arrive." Said Aeris.  
Who didn't really want to lend her homework to the school bully.  
"I said, let me copy them" Said Cloud slowly, as if Aeris was stupid.  
"But.." Said Aeris, not sure what to say. Cloud tried to snatch at her  
homework, when the teacher arrived early to the lesson. Aeris was relieved  
to see her, as now Cloud couldn't force her to give up her homework.  
"What do you think your doing?" Asked there Teacher, Miss Heartily.  
"I was just looking at her homework, to see if I'd done mine right." Said  
Cloud smiling innocently at the teacher.  
"Well I'm here now." Said Miss Heartily "why don't I check it for you."  
Aeris watched Cloud to see what he would do now. She secretly hoped he  
would get in trouble, as this wasn't the first time he had picked on her.  
"Sure." Said Cloud smiling. He walked over to his desk and looked in his  
bag. "mmm I'm sure it was in here somewhere." He said looking in his bag  
for some homework that didn't exist.  
"You mean you haven't done it" said Miss Heartily who had seen that trick  
many times before. "And this isn't the first time either." She said getting  
angry. "I've had it." She said. "You have a detention after school"  
"For not doing my homework?" asked Cloud smirking.  
"No for your entire attitude in class. You never do your homework, it's  
always copied from Aeris here, or just not handed in." She was just about  
to start listing Cloud's flaws when he interrupted her.  
"How do you know she doesn't copy of me?" Asked Cloud.  
"Because both your homework is at A standard, where her class work is also  
A but your's is C." Said Miss Heartilly. "And I'm not stupid." She said  
looking at Cloud who looked like he was about to say something. "You  
interrupted, your rude. You mess about in lessons." While she was saying  
this Cloud just looked bored. "And then you ask why you get detentions. Do  
you have anything to say for yourself?" she asked annoyed at his attitude.  
"Have you finished? I'm getting bored" he said. Miss Heartily looked at  
him, and sighed.  
"Sit down, now. Misbehave one more time and you'll get a week's  
detentions." She said giving up on Cloud. Cloud sat down and was quiet  
during the lesson, but didn't do any work. The lesson went quickly for  
Aeris. And soon the beel was ringing. She gathered up her books and headed  
towards the door. The other students did the same and soon the corridor was  
full of students. Needing some fresh air, she decided to walk the outside  
way instead.  
  
However, Cloud and a few of his friends had followed her. And cornered her  
against the wall. Aeris looked slightly worried as there was no way she  
could fight her way out. A couple of guys maybe, but not the six who were  
there.  
"Can I help you?" Asked Aeris politely, deciding it was best to try and  
talk some sense into them.  
"Well actually yes." Said Cloud glaring at her. "you could try not getting  
me in trouble." He said Hitting her across the face, Aeris dropped her  
books across the floor started by the sudden pain. She was going to pick  
them up when a few of Cloud's friends got there first and ripped them up.  
"What have I done to you?" Asked Aeris almost in tears.  
"You got me in trouble today" Said Cloud. "Now you have to pay for it."  
"I didn't mean to." Said Aeris, upset. This just caused Cloud to hit her  
again, right in the nose. Aeris felt blood dripping down her face. "Please  
just leave me alone" Said Aeris crying for real this time.  
"Don't think your tears will work on me." Said Cloud, preparing to hit her  
again. But a voice stooped him.  
"NO!! Don't!" Cried a girl with long brown hair.  
"Tifa." Said Cloud surprised to see his girlfriend.  
"How could you do this to her?" Asked Tifa in shock.  
"Oh come on," said Cloud annoyed at the interruption. "It's not like she  
matters, she just a freak"  
"What has she done to you?" Asked Tifa really annoyed now.  
"Just stay out of this!" Said Cloud, mad at his girlfriend.  
"What and let you beat up a girl? You coward." Tifa said to Cloud,  
really mad now.  
"Come on Tifa," Said Cloud, pulling Tifa close to him. "Trust me she  
deserves it." But it was too late, Tifa was already mad at him and he'd  
just made it worse.  
"Don't touch me!!" Cried Tifa upset, just stay away. And with that  
she stormed off, tears streaming down her face.  
Cloud turned around and punched Aeris several times. "It's all your  
fault!" He screamed at Aeris, who had collapsed on the floor in pain, tears  
streaming down her face. Kicking her he ran off after Tifa, trying to talk  
her into liking him again. Luckily his friends followed, leaving Aeris  
lying on the floor.  
  
Aeris lay there for a few minutes recovering from her injuries, eventually  
she was able to get up and collect her stuff. Luckily it hadn't rained for  
awhile so her books weren't that messed up, just a bit dirty. Too  
traumatised to go to her lesson, which she was late for anyway, Aeris  
walked straight out of the school gates.  
She didn't know where she was going, or care that much either, she just  
wanted to walk and walk until she couldn't get any further..  
  
Tifa meanwhile was in the middle of an argument with Cloud. She was mad at  
him for what he had done to Aeris. It was a side of him, she had never seen  
before, and she didn't like it. After about 10 minutes off arguing, she  
stormed off.  
  
"Have you seen Aeris?" she asked a girl who was skiving her lesson. "I need  
to apologise to her." The girl was in shock, Tifa was the most popular girl  
in school, what did she have to apologise to Aeris for anyway. Deciding it  
was none of her business she decided to just answer Tifa's question.  
"If you mean a girl with long brown hair, wearing pink then she left. The  
school about five minutes ago." She replied. "She looked kind of upset"  
"Did you see which way she went?" asked Tifa, the girl pointed in the  
direction she went.  
"Thanks!" called Tifa heading to the bike racks to get her bike.  
  
After a few hours of walking Aeris was growing tired, noticing a old church  
she walked in. Religion had been abandoned in Midgar about 20 years  
earlier, the only parts left were a few abandoned church's no one ever  
visited, knowing she was save inside, she walked into the church, shutting  
the door quietly behind her. Collapsing in one of the seats, she started to  
cry all over again. But not for long, as she was interrupted by a ghost.  
The ghost looked about 35 and had brown hair down her back, just like  
Aeris. She looked kind and gentle, and Aeris wasn't afraid. Partly because  
she was used to ghosts, and partly because she knew this one wasn't trying  
to harm her.  
'are you the Cetra?' asked the ghost. Aeris nodded, that's what the ghost  
always called her. She had always figured that was just some other name for  
mediator.  
'I have something to show you.' The ghost said, pointing at a book. With  
that it vanished. Leaving Aeris alone once more.  
Picking up the book Aeris glanced through it, 'it looks like a diary' she  
thought to herself..  
  
Tifa was searching all over the town for Aeris, she couldn't find her  
anywhere. She was just about to give up when the feeling came over her to  
go look in the church, figuring she had nothing to lose by trying she got  
off her bike and walked in through the door.  
  
Aeris was just deciding if she would read the diary or not, when she heard  
someone entering the church, slipping the book into her bag she turned  
around to see Tifa.  
"Aeris!" said Tifa happily, and slightly surprised to have found her. "are  
you ok?"  
"I guess" Aeris replied with a small smile.  
"I've been looking all over for you" Tifa said, "I've been worried, what  
Cloud did was wrong and.."  
She was interrupted by Aeris, "I don't want to talk about it."  
"Well ok," Said Tifa. Not really knowing what to do now that she had  
finally found Aeris. "Is it true that you can talk to ghosts?" Asked Tifa,  
who had always wondered about this stuff.  
"yes" Aeris replied simply. "Not just ghosts, the spirits off the planet as  
well"  
Tifa looked at her, before she would have laughed at something like that,  
but she remembered that feeling that told her to come into the church.  
'Maybe theirs is something in it afterall' she though.  
"Is there any in here now?" Asked Tifa, her curiosity getting the best of  
her.  
Aeris was about to say no, when she noticed one appear. She/it had shoulder  
length hair, and looked a lot like Tifa.  
"I need to talk to my daughter, please help me" said the ghost close to  
tears.  
"Yes" replied Aeris.  
"REALLY!!" asked Tifa surprised.  
"Yeah one moment" Aeris said turning towards the ghost. "Your daughter?"  
To Tifa it looked like Aeris was talking to herself, she still wasn't sure  
if she believed in ghosts anyway.  
"Yes, I lead her to you" Said the ghost to Aeris. Aeris blinked then  
figured out what the ghost meant.  
"Tifa?" Aeris asked the ghost.  
"yes" replied The ghost, at the same time tifa said "yeah"  
Glancing at Tifa, she made her choice to tell Tifa the truth "The  
ghost says that you are her daughter"  
  
This didn't quite get the reaction Aeris expected.  
"HOW DARE YOU!!" Tifa shouted "First you tell me all this stuff about  
'talking to the planet' which I figured was your weird version of a joke,  
but you can leave my mother out of this twistered game off yours or  
whatever it is, I've had enougth!" With that she started to walk towards  
the doors. "CLOUD WAS RIGHT ABOUT YOU ALL ALONG!!" She said over her  
shoulder.  
Aeris stood there not knowing what to do, luckly the ghost helped her  
out a little.  
"She say's remember to water the roses." Aeris said repeating what  
the ghost had just told her.  
Tifa slowly turned around. "what did you say?"  
"She say's remember to water the roses." Aeris said repeating her  
earlier statement. Tifa burst into tears, then it must be her! Aeris  
glanced at Tifa confused. "when I was little I used to pretend that our  
garden was full of roses," Aeris smiled at this but Tifa hadn't finished.  
"I always wanted to grow flowers, but you can't. not here in Midgar anyway.  
My mum was the only one who knew this, so she must be here! I'm sorry for  
getting mad at you." She said sheepishly.  
"no harm done" said Aeris.  
"Can she here me right now?" asked Tifa.  
"yes" Aeris replied simply...  
  
  
What does Tifa's mum want, are thinks going to get any better for Aeris now  
that Tifa is on her side? And whose diary did Aeris find in the church?  
Find out in the next chapter! 


End file.
